Friday 24 September 2010

How To Write Detective Novels

This is a short extract from the chapter entitled 'Plot Construction' from a very rare book published in 1936 by Nigel Morland called 'How To Write Detective Novels'.

A detective novel cannot exist without a plot, carefully worked out and dovetailed together; a straight novel may be written with only the slightest of threads to hold it together. One of the first things to master, then, is the manafacture of plots.
There are two phases of this important procedure. First, the central idea has to be obtained, and, second, this idea has to be developed and expanded so that it will stand being written up to a length of anything from seventy thousand to one hundred thousand words.
Getting ideas for plots is mainly a matter of practice and thinking along productive lines. Inspiration is the resource of the amateur; it plays little part in the work of the professional. Perhaps everyone with an interest in writing could suggest at least one workable plot, but that is of little use when success depends on the ability to sustain a steady output of books as a source of income.

2 comments:

  1. That's not how - that's a list of problems!

    Describe an English country village. Add "but all is not what it seems." Introduce interfering old lady/genial local policeman/grumpy old policeman, preferably with an unusual car or a name of one word. Hint at their dark past.

    Add dead body and a bit about guns.
    Introduce suspects, drool a bit about one or two of them. Speculate as to their relationship with old lady/genial/grumpy copper in the past.

    Then get them killed.

    Continue until you're utterly bored with this then add the clue the detective/old lady/genial/grumpy copper knew all along, possibly at Evensong or maybe the Harvest Festival Supper, if you want to be so rural it goes on Midsummer Murders before you can say "unlikely tosh."

    It's OK, I don't need any thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done for not falling into one of those cliche traps. Excellent.

    ReplyDelete

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